The mistake of humiliating a poor but sagacious man in the royal court turned out to be the final blunder on the part of the sinister Nanda’s, invincible rulers of Magadha.
It was the dusk of this colossal empire. All kinds of transgressions were being wrecked upon the citizens and the populace wanted a change in the rule. The ‘Rule of Law’ that prevailed during Nanda’s ancestors had eroded away and Dhanananda, steered by his wily minister Rakshasa , luxuriated and gripped over his opponents.
Anyone raising voice against the chaos was termed traitor and were subjected to harsh tribulation. People’s rights were seized and burden of tax was swelling. All democratic set-ups prevailing before had been demolished. Armed forces were disciplined and made loyal only to the ruler and not the state.
At this juncture of the hour, the poor witty man, with burning fire of revenge against the Nandas came to the rescue. Scholars call him ‘Kautilya’, the author of ‘Arthashastra’ and Historians call him ‘Chanakya’, the creator of Mauryan Empire.
With whatever name someone may call him , but the real muddle is between the politics he is influencing and the politics with which he is getting influenced by.
Chanakya, the son of Chanak, a man from 4th century BCE, said to be Brahmin by birth.A prodigy in economics, politics and statecraft. An alumni of Takshashila University in Gandhar region of north-west India, said to have encountered Alexander and opposed him but simultaneously learnt from strategies and tactics employed by the Macedonian. He then trained and raised child Chandragupta Maurya, a low-caste villager or forest-dweller, to ascend the Magadhan throne. Under Chanakya’s mentorship , Chandragupta went on to unify nearly whole of Indian Subcontinent.
When Nationalist movements in India spread in ninteenth century, leaders probed for finding indigenous Indian elements and create a sense of Indianness. Accomodating British interest to extract the essence of the exotic land and it’s History, the exploration to find out ancient Indian civilizations intensified.
Prior to the unearthing of Indus Valley Civilization, the history accorded to scientific evidences , started from Vedic civilization, Buddhism and Mauryan Empire. To create an image of India’s Golden Age, which was demolished by Colonizers and Invaders, the patriots found “Chanakya” and his book on statecraft ‘Arthashastra’ an ideal ingredient in India’s Polity’s glory.
Being evident because of the Arthshastra’s scriptures and their viability across the ages down the line and even been used by Britishers to administer India, Chanakya became a Hero in the pre-independence era.
After Independence , Indian Foreign Diplomacy needed doctrines and symbols which could be unique and representing the national character. Ashok, grandson of Chandragupta, who trailed on the path of Chanakya-niti, was the Ideal Character to be adopted by the Indian State. It took Ashok Chakra in it’s national flag, Lion Capitol from Ashok’s Sarnath Stupa for it’s national emblem and other national symbols are also more or less associated with Ashok’s legacy.
The notion of Secularism, that is exhibited during Ashokan Era and the public welfare carried out during that time is surprising. This is clearly in accordance to Constitution’s principle in modern Indian nation. And not to overlook the fact that Chanakya clearly defined these Ideal methods for Political Stability.
After the advent of Democracy in India, politics got an upper hand over History. History since then got distorted, destroyed and even created. Chanakya suffered in this.
Right Wing Nationalists, who are devoted to Nation so blindly that they can’t accommodate anything that is diminishing the prestige and pride of the nation and it’s glory. Chanakya, as a symbol of India’s glorious political past, has been glorified , without getting critically evaluated for his works and without being rewarded with an unbiased study of his practicality in today’s world.
Left Wing Communists, who are so obsessed with the class-division politics and anti-establishment that they have tagged Chanakya as astute statesmen who is a pro-bourgeois and anti-citizen or anti-liberal.
Modernists indeed find nothing new in Chanakya and give credit to Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli more than Chanakya.
During the course of 2300 years , Chanakya-niti has been interpreted and misinterpreted number of times. Kings and Princes have followed it for better administration, suiting to their personality. But the interpretations of the nitis by the corporate sector,the capitalists , is disappointing as it is being applied to the other one’s loss rather than own’s security.
Then come pop-writers who are using the sentiments of people associated with the hero , to earn living by writing newer distortions about his past.
Is it the same case with every historical character or only Kautilya has this fate?
Kumbhmela & Gandhi
“The Autobiography” of M.K.Gandhi : Episode of Kumbhmela and Insights.
It was 1915, and this time Haridwar was hosting, the Fest with largest congregation in the world,i.e.,Kumbhmela.’Kumbh’ means ‘pot’ or ‘urn’,which in Indian context holds a high symbolic value as a representation of Womb(the Feminine Energy) and ‘Mela’ means ‘fair’,which gives the sense of it’s auspiciousness. Starting from Makar Sankranti,the Day from which Sun starts moving north of Tropic of Capricorn,in the high-winters, the celebration lasts for nearly three fortnights.
This holy fair is organised once in twelve years at one city and once in three years in one among these four cities of Allhabad also Prayag on the confluence of Ganga,Yamuna and Saraswati , Haridwar on Ganges , Nashik on Godavari and Ujjain on Shipra.
Mythology narrates the cause behind this fair, as when Nectar(Amrut) was being carried over by the Lords or Demi-Gods over the sky, due to their skirmish with Demons, four drops of the nectar from the Kumbh or Pot fell on the Earth in different parts and whoever during Kumbhmela visits the place, he gets uplifted in Spirituality level.
Situated at the junction of Siwaliks and Gangetic Plains,Haridwar welcomes divine river Ganga into the plains and the river here learns to be pacified after being restlessly playing with the rocky slopes. Literally means the Door of Hari(Vishnu) or Door of Hara(Shiva) , signifies the essence of being the pilgrimage place as the Passage to God.
Gandhiji had just returned from South Africa and was on a tour-mission to know India. Someone had said him , to Be Indian,first know India,know her culture, her beliefs and faiths,her children and their unheard stories.
These had two fold effects , it enriched humanity in Gandhiji’s heart and led him to apply his non-violent weapon against colonial oppressors. He was attending seminars, political lectures and functions,
and met great leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhle(Gandhiji’s political mentor)and Raichand Bhai(His spiritual mentor) and was on the verge of being a Swadeshi leader (as opposed to English Lawyer).
Gandhiji returned from Rangoon to Calcutta,hearing an oppurtunity of service in Haridwar Kumbhmela, by travelling on ship’s deck and then went to destination by third class bogey in train.
During the journey , Gandhiji observed that in the thronged train going from Calcutta to Haridwar, even among utter discomfort and thirst , Hindu Pilgrims didn’t touch water sold by Muslims and bought something only when that was being sold by Hindus.This troubled Gandhiji and he wondered that if those pilgrims would have been in their death-beds and there would have been no one except a Muslim to serve them water for their survival, would they still refuse it?
After reaching Haridwar , Gandhiji could hardly discern himself among the millions in the crowd. Saints and Pilgrims had flooded the city , ranging from railway stations, cart-bull stands,homes,streets,chowks to the river bank.Among them, a relatively small group was of organisers and workers to facilitate the fair.
Gandhiji was one of them, leading the Phoenix Team that he created in South Africa, taking inspiration from Leo Tolstoy. Phoenix Team’s prime focus was to do the work of manual scavengers and keep the sacred environment sewage-free and it was nicely overseen by Maganlal Gandhi.
Another ignominious incidence that Gandhiji mentions is that about a five-legged cow. Ascetics, celibates,monks and couples(grihasthas,as called in India) and people of all ages,sects,castes and from different parts of world were coming in-and-out of the city and near the river-bank road where crowd is more, a merchant was show-casing a cow with five legs which had attracted a considerable gathering around him. Gandhiji got curious and asked his more-experienced guide Dr.Srikrishna Dev about the scientific reason behind this cow’s different-ability. But the aftermath knowledge was horrendous. The cow had been helplessly tore apart from her dorsal-back and the cut-out leg from a young calf had been fixed. The Hindu-mass who revered cow as their Goddess were being cheated and wrenched out of their sacred incomes. The merchant is surely liable for the crime, but Gandhiji also blamed the devotees who were so blindly attached to their faith that without enquiring or reasoning out, were going on donating money.
Gandhiji’s determination now was to repent for the sins of others by himself , in order to retain the sacrament of the place. For that Gandhiji started half-day fastings and reduced his food-intake and enjoyed the pain of fasting.
The diversity that Gandhiji witnessed in Haridwar was very much significant in shaping his pan-Indian mind.
During the stay , he was busy attending the people and many-times got out of mood and could not control his tongue,which he later rued and compared that the painstaking train journey in third-class was better than meeting people and getting a superior feeling of being popular.
Juggernautic 